West Brom step up pursuit of attacker who Bilic wants, valuation slashed by 20% – report
West Brom have held “informal talks” with QPR as they aim to sign in-demand attacker Eberechi Eze, according to the Guardian.
The newspaper claims that Albion held discussions with the London club last week but face competition from Crystal Palace and West Ham in the pursuit of signing the 22-year-old.
When the Guardian first reported West Brom’s interest in QPR last week, they said that the Championship club valued Eze at £20million. However, in their latest report, it is understood that their valuation has dropped by 20 per cent to £16million after Palace tabled a bid worth around £12million plus add-ons.
It seems there is wiggle room in the negotiations here and West Brom might be holding off from making a bid of their own until they see how low QPR are willing to go before losing Eze, who is arguably their most talented player.
He scored a peach of a goal against the Baggies at The Hawthorns on the final day of the Championship season. That was his 14th of the campaign for Rangers, while he also assisted eight goals in the 46 league appearances he made.
West Brom manager Slaven Bilic was spotted talking to Eze on the pitch after the 2-2 draw at The Hawthorns last month. The Guardian now reported that the Croat is interested in a deal for him.
Eze is a great player who tore up the Championship despite only celebrating his 22nd birthday in June.
Stats by WhoScored show that Eze completed more dribbles [136] than any other player in the whole of the Championship this season and he also ranked ninth for the number of key passes he made [82].
He can play on the left-wing and as a No 10 so his versatility and ability to possibly replace Grady Diangana on the left are good reasons why a deal should be struck now his price-tag seems to be dropping.
In other West Brom news, Daryl Burgess has urged the club to sign this 32-year-old striker.
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